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The car has been with us for over a century and we’re all used to the everyday jargon. Most of us understand petrol and diesel, what miles per gallon (MPG) figures mean, and how to fill up the tank. But, the arrival of electric cars (or EVs for short) means there are lots of new terms to learn and apply to the real world.
So, to make life that little bit easier, we’ve created the Rest Less guide to electric vehicle terminology. It’s not one of those exhaustive A-Z glossaries. Instead, you’ll find most of the information you need to help you choose the electric, or electrified, car that best suits your needs.
There are plenty of myths surrounding electric vehicles and just as much confusion – but, in many cases, switching to driving electric is actually about changing your mindset. However, it’s equally important not to feel pressured into buying an electric car if it’s not right for you – and to stick with the car that works best for your budget and lifestyle.
That aside, whether you’re curious about the world of electric cars and want to know more or are hoping to make your first electric purchase, we hope this guide will help to unravel some of the mystery.
Electric or electrified?
There’s some confusion over the differences between electric and electrified. Some of this is because of marketing, which blurs the lines to sell cars – but we’re all about giving you the real facts.
Firstly, electrified does not mean the same as fully electric. An electrified car could be a hybrid with a battery and petrol or diesel engine, giving it the ability to switch between fuel and electric power.
In the case of a model like the Toyota Corolla hybrid, things like engine braking (which turns your car’s kinetic energy into electricity) can be used to put power back into the battery. The purpose of the battery itself might just help to lower emissions, improve fuel consumption, or, in some cases, allow the car to run electric-only (EV mode) around town.
EV mode is more common in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). These also have an engine and an electric motor but need to be both filled up and charged. In some ways, this seems like a bit of a faff, but a PHEV can be the best of both worlds for those who aren’t keen to go fully electric yet.
Charge it at home and you might have enough electric range to do the daily commute, reserving the fuel for long-distance trips. Models like the BMW 330e, Mercedes C300e, Volvo XC90 PHEV, and the Toyota Rav4 hybrid are all popular examples, and are ideal for those who travel longer distances regularly because they can reduce range anxiety.
The same is also true of what’s called the range extender (REX) or range extended electric vehicle (REEV). These cars are fitted with an auxiliary power unit (APU), which runs on fuel and charges the car’s battery automatically when it’s low. This means that – as long as you don’t let your fuel tank run dry – you’ll never have to worry about getting stuck because your battery’s gone flat.
REXs became popular when the BMW i3 used a motorcycle engine to generate power for the electric motor. But, today, there are more modern versions of REXs available, such as Nissan’s E-Power in its Qashqai and X-Trail.
Finally, we get to the star of the show, the pure EV, or battery-electric vehicle (BEV). This includes all Tesla models, Audi’s e-tron versions, BMW i models, the Nissan Leaf, Porsche Taycan, Renault Zoe, and Volkswagen’s ID range – among many others. All can be charged at home, preferably with an installed charge point or using public chargers. And the driving range available varies widely, so it’s best to go for the model that gives you a range suitable for your requirements.
Driving range
It’s impossible to talk about EVs without mentioning driving range, namely how far you can travel on a charge. This figure varies enormously, with some small city models only capable of around 100 miles, while others can travel up to 400 miles.
As with traditional MPG figures, it’s important to understand the claimed versus real-world numbers too. A car company might say their EV can travel 200 miles, but that might be the best case achieved during only urban driving in summer. In winter, on the motorway, the number can drop significantly.
The main thing is always to look at your needs. Do you need an EV to be able to travel 400 miles, or are most of your daily trips going to be much less and you’ll plug the car in each evening? If that’s the case, which it is for most drivers, then driving range is rarely going to be an issue. Plus, with charging infrastructure increasing, it’s even becoming less of a problem to travel longer distances and charge en route.
Energy consumption
Most of us are familiar with MPG figures – with the MPG number telling us how many miles a car will travel on one gallon of petrol or diesel. But how do we measure energy consumption in EVs? Energy consumption in EVs is measured in miles per kilowatt-hour (mi/kWh) and indicates how far a vehicle can travel on a single kilowatt-hour of energy.
While you can work out an equivalent MPG figure for an EV by multiplying the car’s miles per kilowatt-hour (mi/kWh) by 33.7 – this can all get a bit too mathematical. MPG is also considered less useful these days because it doesn’t reflect real-world driving, in which we pay for petrol by the litre.
All you really need to know is that, as with MPG, the higher the mi/kWh figure, the more efficiently a car drives. On average, most EVs can travel 3-4mi/kWh (which is around 120-160 miles on a single charge, assuming it has a 40kWh battery capacity). Anything higher will mean that a vehicle can travel even further before it needs charging again.
Charging systems
Charging infrastructure is another area widely discussed in the world of EVs. Firstly, there’s your home charger, which is straightforward. You could rely on a three-pin plug connection, but this can become frustrating, as it could take days rather than hours to fully charge.
Instead, it’s generally better to have a home charge point, such as those supplied by companies like Andersen EV, Octopus, Ohme, and Pod Point, among others. Many new and even some used EVs will come with a charger installation deal, but if you’re looking for yourself then expect to pay at least £800 for a good one.
All the latest chargers are smart chargers, meaning they can be connected to the best electricity tariffs, charged at the cheapest times, and operated via a touchscreen or an app. Once set up, you just need to plug into your car and leave the tech to do its thing.
Out on the road is slightly different, as there are a wide range of charging companies, charge speeds, and tariffs. Some car companies have preferred partners, which often means cheaper rates. Though don’t be wowed by claims of fast charging, as an EV can only charge at the speed its onboard charger can accommodate.
Public charging is generally the most expensive way to charge an EV. Whether you use kerbside 7kW charge points or ultra-rapid chargers from Shell, Ionity, or many others, try to use them only to add the range you need to complete your journey. It’s also worth only charging up to 80% of the battery capacity, partly because this is quicker but also because it helps to preserve the battery life.
Plugging in
Take a look at most public chargers and you’ll see several different cables, plugs, or connectors. The Nissan Leaf uses an older CHAdeMo connection with a big and heavy cable for public charging. It’s simpler at home where its second port is a type 2, which is the most common type for home charge points.
Most EVs use what’s called a Combined Charging System (CCS) plug. This combines a type 2 connection for home charging with an additional set of pins in the socket for rapid public chargers.
Whatever connection your EV has, they all come with their own set of cables and if you have what’s called a tethered chargepoint at home, then this will have a cable built in too. Then when you’re out and about, public chargers generally have at least two connection options so you can just park and plug in.
Sharing the power
We’re all used to powering things in our cars, from the early days of plugging a device into the 12V socket to the modern era of USB ports and wireless charging pads. The EV takes this even further with Vehicle-to-Load and Vehicle-to-Grid.
The former, more commonly referred to simply as V2L, means you can use your car to power bigger devices like tools and camping equipment. You can also charge leisure accessories, such as an e-bike.
Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) isn’t so straightforward. V2G means you can put power back into the grid when you don’t need it in your car. This can mean that the grid will buy power from you, allowing you to supply the grid with power when the tariff price is more expensive, and put the charge back when it’s cheaper.
At present, only the Nissan Leaf has this capability but you do need a V2G-capable charger, which is much more expensive than a standard one. More EVs with V2G capability are on the way, including the new Renault R5 and, hopefully, we’ll see the costs of chargers start to come down.
Pre-conditioning
Pre-conditioning is a fantastic piece of EV technology that’s also available on some PHEV models. It allows you to pre-heat or pre-cool the interior using touchscreen settings or an app before you even climb in.
Pre-conditioning is most useful in winter when you can watch your neighbours scraping the ice off their windscreen while yours is all clear and the interior nice and toasty. Not that anyone wants to be smug or anything! It has other advantages too in that it warms up the batteries and a warm battery charges faster and is more efficient.
Maintenance
While electric motors still have lots of moving parts, they have nowhere near the number needed for a traditional petrol or diesel engine. This means maintenance can be significantly lower, especially when it comes to the need to replace items come servicing time.
It’s not just about servicing either because fewer parts means less to go wrong and that can mean more trouble-free miles.
Weighing in
There’s one other aspect of EVs that’s often discussed and that’s weight. Batteries are heavy and that means most EVs weigh significantly more than their petrol equivalents.
Generally, this isn’t much of an issue, but if you want to tow anything, then you do need to be wary of the legal gross weights allowed. For example, if you choose a big electric SUV weighing nearly three tonnes and add a trailer or caravan, you can fall foul of the rules.
Final thoughts…
Hopefully, our guide to EV terminology has clarified rather than confused. The best thing to do is decide what you need your car to be able to do and then start looking around, just as you would for a petrol or diesel car.
If you’re looking for somewhere to start, our guide to 10 of the best electric cars in 2024 should give you some ideas.
Did you find this guide helpful? Was there any other EV terminology we could help with? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.